Page 165 of Secrets Hidden In The Glass

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Nate walked behind Captain Bob, following him deeper into the woods as a cold rain fell. The forecasters were calling for an icy mix by early afternoon, which was pretty much the last thing he needed right now, but nothing about Callie’s case seemed to be coming easy. Currently, they were in a race against the clock to get out to the area where Captain Bob had found the locket before conditions deteriorated any further. Mac was bound to need a hand as the roads slicked up, and Bob wasn’t exactly a spring chicken. Falls and broken bones weren’t on the agenda today.

Captain Bob looked to the sky. “It’s really starting to come down. I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up with a bit of snow. Those weather folks over on the mainland are saying sleet, but I’m telling you they’re wrong.”

Nate glanced up, blinking when a drop nearly landed in his eye. They didn’t typically get snow on the island quite this early, but Captain Bob was known for his uncanny instincts when it came to the weather. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Captain Bob laughed as he shook his head. “Meteorologists. Must be nice to be right fifty percent of the time and still get a paycheck. Imagine if I only got the boat to the mainland half the time?”

Nate caught a pine bough before it slapped him in the face. “Maybe you should show them how it’s done.”

Captain Bob chuckled. “I’ll stick to the water. That’s where me and Lucky belong.” He let out a piercing whistle. “Where are you, Lucky?”

The dog came running through the trees, wearing a bright red vest.

“There you are.” He gave the dog a scratch on the head. “Don’t be wandering too far. We don’t want anyone thinking you’re a deer, though I doubt anyone’s out with their bow and arrow today.” He glanced back at Nate. “Like to keep him close. His eyes aren’t what they once were.”

“How old is Lucky now?”

“Heading toward nine in February. Best dog I’ve ever owned.”

Nate studied the pretty golden retriever sniffing around. Before Callie had come to the island he’d toyed with the idea of adopting a furry friend. After things settled down a bit, he’d have to see how Callie felt about heading down to the shelter for a dog of their own.

“I think we might be getting close,” Captain Bob spoke up, interrupting Nate’s thoughts. “But like I said before, I’m not exactly sure where I found it.”

Nate glanced around at the thick tree cover and random open spaces scattered about. They were nearly a mile and a half from the path they’d used by the farm. “I’ll take your best guess.”

“If my memory’s correct, it was somewhere right around in here,” he said, pointing in a circumference beyond a freshly fallen tree.

“Does anything specific jump out at you?”

Bob shook his head. “Not particularly. Just sort of feels right.”

Nate clenched his jaw, struggling to stay patient. Pressuring Bob wasn’t going to get them anywhere. “Let’s go take a look around.” He moved in front of Captain Bob, eager to see what was what. He stopped by more fallen trees that had long gone to rot. “Somewhere around in here?”

Captain Bob nodded. “I think there were some logs nearby—a couple of rocks too. Could be those or maybe the ones over there. Or maybe it’s those over there.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Hell, Nate, it’s hard to say.”

So far this was a bust as Bob described the majority of their surroundings, but Nate wasn’t about to give up. “You’re relatively sure it was somewhere out here in this section of woods?”

“I’d like to say yes.”

“If we were gauging your certainty in percentages, where would you be on the map—thirty, fifty, eighty percent?”

Captain Bob frowned as his gaze tracked around the ground. “Right around sixty or so.”

That left them with a forty percent chance that it wasn’t. Nate looked around in the deafening quiet—at the endless trees and pockets of shadows, certain that nothing good could have happened out here if Captain Bob was right. “I’m hoping we might be able to narrow down a perimeter of sorts—not necessarily the exact spot.” He wanted a grid and the ability to start looking for artifacts. If the locket was found somewhere around here, maybe there was a chain too. Or worse. “There are some logs farther off.” Nate pointed in the distance. “What about those?”

Captain Bob shook his head. “No. There’s something about this spot that makes me want to say this is it.”

“Like what?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking back, trying to remember after I got your phone call yesterday. I’m pretty sure I found it after I had my lunch. I usually stop off at places like this—peaceful and shady. Good place to eat—maybe take a little nap. I know I was surprised—turned on the metal detector and there it was. I certainly hadn’t been expecting to find something in such a random area.”

“And you think it was right around where we’re standing?”

“I do.”

Nate stuck a fluorescent orange flag in the ground, then three more, making a hundred-foot square. “Did you have to dig for it or was it visible?”